Britain, the United Kingdom, the British Isles and England

(Great) Britain is normally used to mean the island which includes England, Scotland and Wales; British is used for the people of these three countries.

Great Britain and Northern Ireland together are called the United Kingdom; some people also use Britain in this wider sense.

The British Isles is a geographical, not a political, term. It is the name for England, Scotland, Wales, the whole of Ireland (which includes both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, also called ‘Eire’), and the smaller islands round about.

Note that England is only one part of Britain. Scotland and Wales are not in England, and Scottish and Welsh people do not like to be called ‘English’.

An informal word for a British person is Brit. Briton is used mainly in news reports and newspaper headlines (e.g. THREE BRITONS DIE IN AIR CRASH), and to refer to the ancient inhabitants of Britain.